Friday, January 27, 2012

The area I live in is nicknamed "Fog Likely". It's near the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains and we get this weather phenomenon called the Carolina Wedge. It's when cold air gets dammed up against the east side of the mountains and traps the fog here. There used to be a big yellow sign on the old highway that said "Fog Likely Next 4 Miles". So... Fog Likely. When you tell most locals (that have lived here since before the new highway was completed) that you live in Fog Likely, they know exactly where you're talking about.

Coming home from the gallery last night was one of those nights that, to me, is worse than driving on snow. The fog was so thick that I could barely see beyond the hood of the car. There's an intersection with a light that's 2.5 miles from where I need to turn off the highway to get home and I always set my trip odometer because sometimes that's the only way to know where to turn. I have to turn left, across the other two lanes, so I guess that there's no one coming, then stomp on it to get across and hope for the best.

My friend, David, who has a farm near by.

An even stranger thing about this is that I only live 10 miles from the gallery. It was totally clear when I left there and the horrible fog was only the last 3 miles, or so. Welcome to weather in the mountains!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Monday, January 16, 2012

I delivered some new work to Artwalk Gallery here in Boone today and we're going to see if this works for both of us. These pieces are different than anything I have in other places, so that they can have an exclusive product.

These are made from pieces of glass that have been tumbled in the sea. They've been wrapped in silver metal clay and fired in the kiln. Because there's no way to tell what type of glass it is or where it came from, there's no telling what it will look like after it's been heated to high temperatures and has been fumed by the silver. Opening the kiln is like Christmas morning! Then I drill holes in them, add a wire wrapped bail, some beads and a black rubber cord. Voila!

Each one is unique because each piece of glass is different. I try to use different beads on each one and add a few hand made silver charms.

One reason that I decided to create a whole new line of jewelry for this gallery is that it's right up the street from Hands Gallery, one of the co-op galleries that I belong to. I didn't want there to be any competition or comparison. It also stretched me a bit, which is always uncomfortable, but well worth it. I'm pleased with what I came up with and I hope Artwalk's customers are, too.

Friday, January 13, 2012

This is a picture of the fabulously reorganized closet in my studio! This frees up lots of space on the other shelves for things that I use more often. The rest of it can go in the closet and I can shut the door! I've already taken 2 bags to the dump and given away a lot of things to friends. Next is my clothes closet because I only want to make one trip to Goodwill.

Today it's 19 degrees and snowing sideways. I really wish I didn't have to go out in it, but my neighbor is out of town and I have to let her dog out, and in, and out... One more thing to remember every time I think I want to adopt a dog.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Sorry. I got busy on Friday and forgot all about the Friday Foto thing. Then I spent all weekend cleaning and organizng my studio. Purge, purge, purge! Several bags to go to the dump, and two give-away boxes. More about that later.

I was just thinking that wouldn't it be cool if we had calico humans? I think I would like having brunette, blonde and red hair all at once. Maybe I'll start a trend.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

I hope everyone's holidays were wonderful. Personally, I'm delighted that the season's done. Over the Christmas weekend I did a lot of driving and a little bit of visiting. I'm grateful that the visiting was of excellent quality, even if the quantity was small. This is what I have to do, since I'm the one who lives so far away from the rest of my family. The New Year's weekend was quiet and uneventful.

I don't make resolutions for the new year. I'm afraid that if I did, my list would look similar to the one above! (Except for #5. Oh, and #4 - I might stand up to my boss (me) but I won't be looking for a job.) It's just so easy to make a list, then feel overwhelmed by what you've written down, so I've come up with a mental list of things I'd like to improve on. One of the things I'd like to do better is to actually watch the shows I record on my DVR before it gets full and I have to have a marathon TV watching session to make room for new recordings. Another way to remedy this problem is to only record the shows that I really, really like. I have nearly complete seasons of a couple of shows that I haven't watched because I'm not all that enthralled with them. I don't delete them because, well, what if I run out of things to watch? That's ridiculous. SO... manage the DVR better is on my list.

My very dear friend Joan passed away rather suddenly on 12/27. She was undoubtedly one of the nicest people I've ever known - always a smile on her face and a hug available for anyone. She never judged and always had something nice to say. In this next year I'm going to strive to be more like her. Her death also brings the "life is short and you never know when it's over" thing to the front of my brain and so I'm going to try and do at least one fun thing with my friends and/or family every week.

I have several projects in my house and studio and, since I'm on "sabbatical" from jewelry making until the end of March, I want to tackle that list before then. (I say sabbatical because I can't think of another word for not working at what I normally work at for awhile. I suppose since it's my business I can call it whatever I want. (and the sabbatical has allowed me to paint my fingernails for the first time in years, since I won't be doing anything to ruin the manicure!)) Some of these projects are small, taking only an hour or less, and others will take several days. Some are fun, some not so much. I'll tackle them a little bit at a time, a little bit every day.

I hope that if this turning of the calendar has inspired you to do something new or different, that you achieve nothing but success! Happy 2012.

About Me

I live in the beautiful mountains of northwestern North Carolina and I design and make jewelry using silver, copper, precious and semi-precious stones, glass and beads.
I also like to paint, collage, journal, garden and play with my cat.